JANUARY 2021
CITY OF CHICAGO
OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL
¦ ¦ *
CHICAGO DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH AIR POLLUTION ENFORCEMENT FOLLOW-UP
CITY OF CHICAGO
OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL
^mtm&jr 740 NORTH SEDGWICK STREET, SUITE 200
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS 60654
JOSEPH M. FERGUSON TELEPHONE: (773) 478-7799
INSPECTOR GENERAL FAX: (773) 478-3949
JANUARY 7, 2021
TO THE MAYOR, CITY COUNCIL, CITY CLERK, CITY TREASURER, AND RESIDENTS OF THE CITY OF CHICAGO:
The City of Chicago Office of Inspector General (OIG) has completed a follow-up to its September 2019 audit ofthe Chicago Department of Public Health's (CDPH) Air Pollution Enforcement. Based on the Department's responses, OIC concludes that CDPH has fully implemented 10 out of 14 corrective actions, substantially implemented 2, and partially implemented 2.
The purpose ofthe 2019 audit was to determine if CDPH met its air quality inspection frequency goals, ensured that applicable facilities maintained a valid Certificate of Operations (COO), responded to air-quality complaints within 24 hours, and maintained complete and accurate records on the City's Data Portal. Our audit found that the Department was not meeting its internal goals for air-quality inspection frequency, was not consistently categorizing facilities based on their potential to emit pollution, and was not ensuring that facilities annually renew their required COO. We also determined that the Department did not ensure that violations identified by inspectors were resolved. Taken together, these performance issues increased the risk of excessive emissions that harm public health and the environment.
OIC also found that CDPH resolved 84% of air-quality complaints within 24 hours because it prioritized responding quickly to complaints. While some ofthe information on the City's Data Portal was incomplete, CDPH created a Lookup Table that was user-friendly and showed multiple environmental records related to a given address.
Based on the results of the audit, OIC mad...
Click here for full text